Growing up, Christopher Hope saw his mom work a paid internship at a local television station in Atlanta. Because of the double-edged sword of sexism and racism, she never got to pursue her passion for digital storytelling, Hope says.
When she was 57, she died as a result of a drug overdose, and Hope couldn’t help but think about the barriers she had faced that prevented her from pursuing her calling. Hope decided he wouldn’t let those same barriers impact the next generation, so he started the Loop Lab.
The Loop Lab, founded in 2017, is a nonprofit centered around helping 18- to 26-year-old BIPOC students who aren’t enrolled in a four-year university. The program helps students learn to navigate the media arts industry and is split into two parts: a six-month apprenticeship and a six-month paid fellowship.
For the first six months, students meet four times a week and attend workshops and seminars where they gain real-time technical skills in audio production, video production, live sound, photography and various financial-literacy courses.
“Our programming is holistic, and I think that's one of the things that makes it innovative. We don't just address the technical skills that a media artist will need to succeed in the field,” Hope said. "We address the fact that they will have to get experience in customer service and problem-solving in real-time."
- Sign up for The Beat, BostInno’s free daily innovation newsletter. See past examples here.
For the fellowship, Loop Lab helps pair its students with studios around Boston, such as WGBH, WBUR, NESN, Northern Lights, and Q Division.
According to Hope, a formal partnership between Loop Lab and Lesley University in Boston provides apprentices with a full year of college credits through Lesley College of Art and Design. Additionally, Lesley has established a scholarship for Loop Lab alumni who want to pursue a bachelor’s degree to go to college “essentially tuition-free,” according to Hope.
Alumni from the program who don’t enroll at Lesley afterward have gone on to hold positions with major media groups, including HBO, Apple TV and Marvel.
“It's not just training media arts to learn it. It's training these folks to be professionals and to ultimately obtain jobs or careers in these industries,” Hope said.
Loop Lab is hosting its inaugural fundraising event, Loop Dreams Gala, at GBH on Oct. 18 to raise more funds, expand programming options, inspire the Boston community and celebrate diversity in the media arts, said Hope.
In the past seven years, Loop Labs has seen substantial growth. Loop Lab received 70 applications for its program last year, of which 35 were eligible and only 12 were selected. This is compared to its initial program of only five students.
Loop Lab has 11 full-time employees and a variety of contractors, which, according to Hope, brings its total to closer to 30.
“The whole value proposition that the loop lab is striking with and resonates with our partners is: What if we were able to empower our young people that have been marginalized in these industries or unseen in these industries and empower them with everything to turn that no, into a Yes,” Hope said.
